TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - When the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested Damayanti Wisnu Putranti, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker from Commission V, two serious concerns emerged. First, being arrested and thrown in jail for corruption is apparently not scary or shameful enough to motivate changes. Secondly, the House of Representatives (DPR) has failed to cleanse itself of the taint of corruption, despite the many cases that have afflicted many of its members. The ugly face of our parliament could be seen, once again, when Damayanti and her two assistants were nabbed in the process of accepting a bribe.

Damayanti allegedly accepted the bribe from Ambonese businessman Abdul Khoir. The case also involved two of her assistants, Julia Prasetyarini and Dessy A. Edwin, each of whom received S$33,000 in cash. The same amount was found in Damayanti's house on Jalan Joe, South Jakarta. KPK Chairman Agus Rahardjo said that Abdul Khoir, CEO of Ambon-based company Windhu Tunggal Utama, had promised to pay Damayanti S$404,000, or around Rp3.9 billion.

Windhu Tunggal Utama is working on a number of road projects in Maluku, including the national road between Tepa-Masbuar-Letwurung on Babar island, Southwest Maluku regency, at a cost of Rp55.673 billion. Other projects on their portfolio include the Ilwaki-Lurang and Tiakur-Weat road developments, each valued at Rp68 billion. These projects were allegedly obtained by Damayanti for Windhu Tunggal Utama.

Such a case is nothing new in Senayan, site of the DPR. Since the KPK was founded in 2002, dozens of legislators have been nabbed for corruption.

What Damayanti's act further stressed is the DPR's ugly image. Corruption seems to linger on in the legislature. Bribery cases never emerge from a single act, arising when officials with power collude with business people. Efforts to cut the corruption vicious circle get easily derailed because of their unflagging greed, of exchanging their authority for cold hard cash. This is why efforts to uproot corruption down to its source should not stop, however difficult and long it may be.

The KPK should investigate how Damayanti operated from the inside: who works with whom; who gets what; how she built her network and push through projects that needed the approval of other commission members as well as the green light from the DPR's budget people.

To uncover this case, Damayanti should be encouraged to come forward as justice collaborator, to work with law enforcers to uncover their crime network. To achieve this, there are a number of criteria to be met: the would-be justice collaborator must agree to work together, they should have important information on the case, they should abide by the law and agree to return the money they stole.

In exchange, the justice collaborator will get lighter sentences as well as protection from the Witnesses and Victims Protection Agency. But he or she must exercise caution. Going down this road should not just be a way for actors to seek lighter sentences.

The Ambon bribery case for Damayanti will test the capability of the newly appointed KPK commissioners. It is not easy to expose all corruptors in the DPR. One reliable way would be to pull corruption elements out of its roots. In Damayanti's case, the root has spread deeply in and around Senayan. (*)

Read the full story in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine